Model found hanged in devil horns and red body paint after Halloween party row with boyfriend

Harriet Penelope Henry, 28, took her own life after winning a fancy dress contest during a night out in Chichester, West Sussex

By Alex Matthews

13th March 2018, 5:24 pm

Updated: 13th March 2018, 8:21 pm

A MODEL was found hanged wearing devil horns and red body paint after a Halloween party row with her boyfriend.

Harriet Penelope Henry, 28, took her own life after winning a fancy dress contest during a night out in Chichester, West Sussex.

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Harriet Penelope Henry poses with boyfriend Josh Mercier while on a night out

Miss Henry, who had a history of suicide attempts and self-harm, stormed out of the party following an argument with her boyfriend Josh Mercier on October 29 last year, an inquest heard.

Her body was found hanging by a scarf at Baffins Court in Chichester.

Mr Mercier told the hearing that the couple had a volatile relationship and she had sent him texts saying she was leaving him.

He said: “I’ve been told things like this by her in the past and it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

“At 06.22, she said 'goodbye'. I tried to call her.

“I thought she’d get back in touch once she’d calmed down.”

EDDIE MITCHELL

Miss Henry was a part-time model who 'touched the lives of many'

EDDIE MITCHELL

Miss Henry had a volatile relationship with her boyfriend, the hearing was told

Psychiatrist Dr Jean Sherrington told the inquest that Miss Henry, known to her friends as Penny, had been treated for an emotionally unstable personality disorder as a result of sexual abuse as a child.

“She would have had distressingly intense feelings which they find difficult to manage.

“Self-harming was a way of dealing with those intense feelings,” the doctor said.

Mum Barbara Stewart-Newell described her daughter as an emotional person who understood and empathised with everyone.

EDDIE MITCHELL

Miss Henry had previously suffered with self-harm and attempted suicide

EDDIE MITCHELL

On the night of her death Miss Henry had argued with her boyfriend Josh Mercier

“She seemed to be drawn to troubled characters who she tried to save,” Mrs Stewart-Newell said.

Miss Henry had worked as a model and in bars and coffee shops in Chichester.

Mental health professionals, who had assessed her before her death, did not believe she was a suicide risk.

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